Manchester United Drops 4% After Ferguson’s Retirement

By Sam Mamudi

Shares of English soccer club Manchester United (MANU) fell more than 4% in early Wednesday trades as investors reacted badly to news that 71 year-old manager Alex Ferguson is stepping down.

Ferguson has been United’s manager since November 1986. During his tenure he established himself and the club as among the most successful in soccer history.

Ferguson’s titles at Manchester United include 13 Premier Leagues, two UEFA Champions Leagues, one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, five FA Cups and four League Cups. Since winning the FA Cup in 1990, the club has never gone more than a season without winning a trophy.

Sir Alex Ferguson is worth $142m to Manchester United, according to the US stock market. The club’s shares fell 4.75% to $17.88 in early trading when the New York market opened a few minutes ago, as investors had their first chance to react to the news of Ferguson’s retirement. Despite the $142m fall the club is still worth more than $2.9bn.

Joshua Raymond, chief market strategist at City Index said: “The club must make the announcement of Ferguson’s replacement quickly. Uncertainty breeds nervousness and typically results in downward pressure on share prices.

“If shareholders needed an excuse to take their profits off the table, they got it this morning. But will the news impact long term shareholders who bought into the share price on the club’s commercial prospects at this stage? I don’t think so. Those selling Man Utd’s shares price today will do so out of fear and uncertainty.”

At the latest, the stock has recovered somewhat, and is down about 2%. The Telegraph, the British newspaper which broke the news of Ferguson’s retirement, is now reporting that Everton manager David Moyes will replace his fellow Scot.

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